When a 76-year-old woman is arrested, it’s interesting but hardly newsworthy. But what if that same woman has been arrested a jaw dropping 73 times since 1971, goes under 36 different names, and cuts her fingerprints off to avoid being identified?

The 73-year-old Katherine Kelly, a.k.a Robin Shapiro, Mildred Friedman, Victoria Vellotil, was recently arrested while snatching a wallet left as “bait” from a shopping cart at a Fairway supermarket on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. An undercover police officer witnessed Kelly take the wallet and hide it in her “bra area.”

Apparently, Kelly’s rap sheet dates back to December 21, 1971, when she was arrested with another female accomplice on charges of forgery, says the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. And of the 73 times she was arrested, she was convicted for 16 of them, usually for misdemeanors that had been pleaded down from felonies.

Her latest sentence was six months for burglary. At the time of her latest arrest, Kelly had a warrant in her name for failing to report to her Probation Officer. The big question on everyone’s mind is: why hasn’t she served more jail time?

One reason is that after each prior arrest, Katherine Kelly made up a new alias and address. Over the years, Kelly was booked under at least 36 other names and a wide range of addresses, including 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

According to the New York Post, the woman doesn’t actually have a known identity or birth date. That might be because she also doesn’t have any fingerprints, say prosecutors and police officers. The mystery woman actually removed them via corrosive acid or some other painful method to avoid being identified. It seems she saw the movie Seven one too many times.

Now facing trial, the strange details of the case are raising questions about the nature of the police system and its inability to keep tabs on Kelly. Also in question is the woman’s mental fitness to stand trial. After all, she did cut or burn her own fingerprints off.

“The question is: Is she mentally stable?” asked James Neilson, Kelly’s attorney.

Neilson isn’t the only one with doubts about Kelly’s state of mind. Richard Schiulaz, who is described as Kelly’s boyfriend and criminal associate, described her as “either cuckoo or a kleptomaniac.” Endearing terms any woman would swoon over after hearing.

Schiulaz was arrested with Kelly in 2004 on charges of robbing a Long Island beauty salon.

Police sources described the 5’6,” 128 pound Kelly as a “terrorist.” In a city that knows a thing or two about terrorists, the hyperbole is somewhat jarring. What the police sources didn’t mention was any reason for the apparent inability of one of the nation’s largest law enforcement bodies to attach a definitive age, name, or address to Kelly.

Kelly’s court appointed attorney is currently attempting to raise $15,000 bail and ensure due process for a woman whose identity is a complete mystery, all at taxpayer expense of course. Everyone has the right to a fair trial, even if no one is clear on exactly who it is that’s on trial.

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